Mother-daughter team Yolen and Stemple get right to the point: “Not all princesses dress in pink. / Some play in bright red socks that stink, // blue team jerseys that don’t quite fit, / accessorized with a baseball mitt / and a sparkly crown.” In upbeat rhyme, they proceed to describe other princesses who roll in the mud, use power tools, play sports, plant flowers and drive dump trucks, all dressed in myriad colorful outfits (but none of them pink!) and sparkly crowns (always rendered in a cursive typeface). At day’s end, the princesses gather at a ball where they “waltz in red, fox trot in blue, / they reel in plaid and polka dots, too. / And in those grand and fancy halls, / one even hip-hops in her overalls // and a very sparkly princess crown. ” Lanquetin’s digitally rendered illustrations depict girls of all shapes, sizes and colors; they are mischievous, exuberant, dirty, exhausted, serious and, most of all, authentic. A joyful and much-needed antidote to the precious pink pestilence that has infested picture books aimed at girls. (Picture book. 4-8)
